Sunset of Hidirlik Safranbolu

Safranbolu is a town and district of Karabük Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. Its location can be roughly described as about two hundred kilometers north of Ankara and about a hundred kilometers south of the Black Sea coast, or more precisely as about 9 kilometers north of the city of Karabük. Former Turkish names of her were Zalifre and Taraklıborlu and in Greek Saframpolis, Σαφραμπολις. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 47,257 of which 31,697 live in the town of Safranbolu. The district covers an area of 1,000 km2 (386 sq mi), and the town lies at an elevation of 485 m (1,591 ft).

The Old Town preserves many old buildings, with 1008 registered historical artifacts. These are: 1 private museum, 25 mosques, 5 tombs, 8 historical fountains, 5 Turkish baths, 3 caravanserais, 1 historical clock tower, 1 sundial and hundreds of houses and mansions. Also there are mounds of ancient settlements, rock tombs and historical bridges. The Old Town is situated in a deep ravine in a fairly dry area in the rain shadow of the mountains. The New Town can be found on the plateau about two kilometers west of the Old Town.

The name of the town derives from saffron, since Safranbolu was a trading place and a center for growing saffron.Today saffron is still alive at the village of Davutobası which is 22 km east of Safranbolu and probably one of the best quality saffron in the world.

Safranbolu was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1994 due to its well-preserved Ottoman era houses and architecture.